Paper Lanterns
by Lorelai Pattern
Summary: If you asked Olivia Dunham one week ago if Lincoln Lee loved her, she would have laughed in their faces and denied it profusely. Spoilers for 3x18, Bloodlines.


**/|\ Paper Lanterns /|\**

**Spoilers for episode 3x18, Bloodlines**

* * *

If you asked Olivia Dunham one week ago if Lincoln Lee loved her, she would have laughed in their faces and denied it profusely.

But now, here she was, in some god forsaken Chinese shop, on the floor in a dull gray hospital ground, about to give birth. Contractions plagued her stomach, and she winced in pain, gasping for breath. She twisted in Lincoln's lap, and began to bury her head into his black jacked, as if she was hiding.

"Olivia..." Her name rouses her from the pain, and she turns away from her black cocoon of Lincoln's warmth, and blinkws at the tall black man kneeling down at her feet. "My name is Henry."

Olivia just stared at him, panting. Her grip on Lincoln's collar becomes tighter. He reciprocated, and tightened his hold on her shoulders.

"I delivered my little girl in the back of my cab," He said, and draped his jacket on her legs to keep her warm. "It's not exactly a medical degree, but I can help out until the ambulance arrives."

She looked up at the man who was currently holding her. Lincoln nodded, and said, "You can trust him."

"Okay," That was enough for her. She smiled grimly at the man. "It's nice to meet you, Henry."

Henry stared at her sadly. "You too," He sighed, then looked at Lincoln, then back to her sweaty form. "May I?" He asked awkwardly, gesturing to Olivia's bulging stomach.

She wanted to laugh right now, in this horribly inappropriate situation. Look at her...? Her lips upturned into a small smile, but it looked more like a pained grimace. She leaned her head back and looked up at Lincoln. "Sure." She agreed wryly.

Spreading her legs (Olivia almost laughed), she looked up at the Chinese paper lanterns and fans that hung from the ceiling. She watched as they moved back and forth, swaying from some minuscule breeze she couldn't feel. Their bright colors faded and blurred, until she couldn't distinguish the difference between one from the other. Her eyes rolled over to Lincoln, who only had eyes for her.

She gave him an exhausted smile, but her grip on his collar tightened. "Lincoln, did you talk to my Mom?" She whispered, her smile fading form her face.

Lincoln doesn't say anything, but she knows that he now knows she is going to die. From VPE. Her baby, Peter's baby, _their _baby, is going to die. She's going to die. Just like Rachel and her baby.

Olivia looked up at the ceiling, her eyes flicking from one paper lantern to another, to the large paper puppet dragon hanging over the cash register on the counter. Some part inside of her brain vaguely registered that an old Chinese woman was watching silently from behind that counter.

Looking away from the colorful ceiling, she turned to Lincoln, her hand reaching for his shoulder, her other reaching for his hand. Olivia's eyes squeezed shut, and a high keening noise escaped from her. More contractions wracked through her body.

"Oh, God," She hissed into Lincoln's jacket, biting her lip. She could almost taste blood in her mouth.

_You're going to die, _A small voice inside of her head whispered.

"Just squeeze my hand," Lincoln begged, and leaned into her small shaking form in his lap. "As hard as you need too."

Lincoln himself winced at the tightness of Olivia's vice-like grip.

"Do you have that feeling that you need to bear down?" Herbert – or was it Henry? – questioned her.

"_Mhmm!_" Olivia growled, wrinkles forming all over her face from the pain. It hurt so much. It hurt too much, she didn't think she could do this.

"That's okay," Herbert/Henry told her, then looked up at Lincoln, who was still not turning away from the woman in his arms. "This baby is on it's way."

Olivia held back screams, attempting not to thrash wildly. Another contraction ripped through her, and she let out a small moan of pain. She already felt weak. Panting, she looked up at Lincoln.

"Look at me," He told her, his voice growing increasingly desperate, but it was still strong. Olivia tried to focus on it. "Don't about an hour from now, and don't think about a minute. We're going to focus on this moment," He said, trying to catch her eyes. Olivia writhed in pain. "Just you and me."

She liked how he said _you and me._ "I'm scared," Olivia whispered into his jacket, in a broken voice.

Henry looked panicked. "Just put your chin to your chest, it'll help, okay? And I need you to push!"

Olivia nodded, slightly in a daze, but her eyes shone with pain. So much pain, that she felt like screaming, but she was too weak. Instead, she buried her head into Lincoln, and her trembling hands squeezed him tighter.

"One...two...three..." Henry counted off. Olivia pushed with all her might, her face contorting, the pain ripping on the inside. She wanted to flail, she wanted to scream, and she wanted this baby out r_ight now. _"Keep pushing, keep pushing!" Henry motivated, his hands poised and ready for what was to come. "Four...five..."

"That's good," Lincoln told her, one hand running through her sweaty auburn locks. "That's really good."

"You promise me that you will stay until this is over!" Olivia demanded, her green eyes widening as more pain dulled her senses. She couldn't move her legs.

Lincoln let out an incredulous laugh. "There is no other place for me to be." He told her truthfully,the paper lanterns glowing behind him. He began rocking back and forth, comfortingly, as if he was trying to take the pain away. Olivia burrowed further towards him, and tears began spilling from her eyes.

"You're doing so good, Olivia, don't look at me, keep pushing!" Henry said, and began counting again. "One...two..."

And Lincoln said something Olivia wasn't expecting.

"I love you."

It was soft, quiet, but his blue eyes shone with several emotions; the first being fear, fear for her and her welfare, and the other was love.

But did she love him? She thought, and her eyes sought out his, and she blinked like a startled rabbit. Did she love Lincoln Lee?

She loved Peter.

But Lincoln was always there for her to fall back on, the one to make her laugh, the one who was always there for her, and is here for her right now.

She decided that she could love Lincoln Lee.

Olivia gasped for air as more contractions ripped throughout her body. Black spots danced in front of her eyes._ Just one more promise. _"Promise me you'll save the baby." She begged.

Lincoln himself was tearing up. "'Liv..." He choked out, his eyes searching hers. A tear escaped him.

"_Promise_ me..." Olivia whispered weakly, her grip on his jacket tightening.

Lincoln rocked back and forth furiously, holding her close to him, his face extremely close to hers. "I promise," He said into her hair. Olivia felt something wet hit her face. His tears.

With that last promise, Olivia squeezed her eyes shut and pushed. Instant pain wracked her body, but she ignored it. She was going numb. Everything hurt, but she just couldn't act upon it anymore. Her teeth bared in concentration, and she pushed.

"Oh my God, I see his head!" Henry proclaimed with a small smile, his forehead drenched in sweat. He looked back up at Olivia, then doing at the baby's small head. "Alright, you're almost there, keep going!"

Lincoln began sobbing quietly.

"Here it is, here it is!" Henry yelled excitedly. "He's here, he's okay!"

Olivia seemed to sigh after that, and rested her head against Lincoln's strong arm. _Just rest my eyes for a second,_ she told herself. _Just a second..._

Lincoln looked up at the sound of a baby's cry, and let out a weak smile and a relieved laugh. Tears streamed down his face. "You here that, Liv?" He didn't notice Olivia as she became limp in his tight grasp, until he looked down at her. "'Livia..." He whispered, his eyes tightening in grief, and he pulled her body closer.

The baby gurgled quietly in the background.

"He made it," He whispered at her still form.

Olivia stirred, letting out a little sigh. Lincoln's voice echoed in her ears. _He made it...he made it..._

And Lincoln Lee let out several relieved laughs and pulled her closer. "He's fine!" He laughed again.

Henry leaned forward, and placed the baby on top of Olivia. The baby fidgeted restlessly, letting out small cries as it burrowed into his mother's warmth. She stared down at the baby, resting her hand on top of his still damp head. Her son cried.

The sound of the ambulance could be heard in the distance.

Lincoln laughed again and pulled her closer. "You have a son!" He said stupidly, still in shock, but had a huge smile on his face.

Olivia smiled too, feeling dumbstruck. "He's beautiful," She whispered.

And as the ambulance drew closer and people clapped, the baby opened his eyes - his shockingly familiar blue eyes - and looked up at the bright paper lanterns that hung above him.

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**Okay, so last night's episode? OH MY GOD I'M STILL IN SHOCK! I always loved Lincoln, but this new episode? Wow! I did this pretty quickly, so please excuse any bad grammar mistakes. I'm also not a native English speaker, so sorry if I switch from different tenses.  
**

**Please leave a review!**


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